This month marks the release of the newly updated and expanded work, Unveiling Islam (Kregel, 2009).  The excerpt below is drawn from chapter 17, "Freedom and the Conscience of a Nation," a nod to the greatest political heroes of our time, Ronald Reagan, who wrote the concise and prophetic pamphlet, "Abortion and the Conscience of a Nation." In a day when so many political figures are either cowering or ignoring the threat of Islam and its ever-expanding Sharia Law, it is my hope that another Reagan will rise from the grassroots and engage in the battle for our very civilization.

Freedom and the Conscience of the Nation: A Nod to the Gipper

On the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, President Ronald Reagan, affectionately known as "The Gipper" by his closest friends, penned a brief yet profound essay entitled "Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation." This eleven-page pamphlet called our nation to grieve over a decision which, up to 1983, had "snuffed out" fifteen million lives.[i] Referencing Abraham Lincoln's arduous battle to emancipate millions of African-Americans from the grip of slavery, Reagan related, "Lincoln recognized that we could not survive as a free land when some men could decide that others were not fit to be free . . . Likewise, we cannot survive as a free nation when some men decide that others are not fit to live."[ii] Reagan dreamed that his pursuit for the rights of the unborn would come to fruition during his presidency, yet his hopes were dashed and, indeed, did not even materialize during his lifetime.

Islamic Scholars Debate If and When Apostates Should Die

Let both [believers and unbelievers] grow together until the harvest and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Matthew 13:30

            According to a recent news article^[i], on Wednesday of this week the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, a group within the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), appointed a committee of six to study if and when apostates should be executed for abandoning their Islamic faith.   Speaking in favor of religious liberty, Egyptian government minister Mahmood Zaqzouq maintained, "Religious freedom is a right that should be guaranteed to every human being."  Saudi religious law professor Muhammad al-Zujaimi, acknowledging the long standing tradition of killing apostates, rebutted, "[Human rights organizations] will never stop attacking Islam even if we were to agree to all their demands...We will never allow others to dictate our religion to us."

            The problem, of course, is that Muhammad's words are clear on this matter:  "If a Muslim changes his Islamic religion, kill him" (Bukhari Hadith 9.57).  And, the very next verses after his dictate describe the slaughter of an apostate Jew.  Additionally, Islamic history has, with few exceptions, supported the death penalty for apostates.  Presently, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, and a host of other Islamic countries apply Muhammad's words on a weekly basis.  Muhammad, the "excellent exemplar" for Muslims (surah 33:21), was no democrat - he was a theocratic dictator who demanded strict conformity.

Just over a decade ago, Supreme Court justice nominee Robert Bork wrote a book entitled Slouching Towards Gomorrah:  Modern Liberalism and American Decline, an eye-opening piece that articulated the dangers of radical liberalism (a redundant term) which interprets much of the Constitution through the lenses of European socialism and United Nations morality (an oxymoronic term). 

 Bork, then portrayed as a cynic, has proven to be a prophet among false prophets.  But even Bork must be surprised at the rapidity of the hard left turn in American politics over the past four months.   Moreover, Judge Bork could not have predicted the swashbuckling friendship Western liberals initiated with militant Islamic groups.  That friendship became a marriage 100 days ago through the inauguration of President Barrack Hussein Obama.  Consider the prenuptials that this administration has seemingly signed:

 The "war on terror" will be outlawed and then the Department of Homeland Security will overtly attack veterans as one of the greatest dangers to our safety.

•  Christian symbols must be removed at Georgetown University during a presidential address but bowing to a Saudi king will be encouraged (I know, Obama claims ignorance; after all, what would a man who was trained in Saudi schools know about Saudi protocol?)

•  Israel, the only democracy in that part of the world, must capitulate to countless Palestinian redresses while Hamas, the kinder and gentler version of Al Qaeda, is now considered a legitimate political party and encouraged to take part in the "solution."

The Anabaptist Vision

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe allthings that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Matthew 28:18-20

Biblically Centered. Distinctively Baptist.

On 21 January 1525, a small group of unlettered, counter-cultural Radicals plodded through the snow and came together in a small home in Zurich, Switzerland. These young men, brought together by the unction of the HolySpirit, came to a decision to reestablish the pattern of a New Testament church, a choice that would ultimately cost them their lives. After an intense time of prayer, one of their leaders, a young evangelist by the name of George Blaurock, arose and, as one account bore witness, “Besought Conrad Grebel for God’s sake to baptize him with the true Christian baptism upon his faith and knowledge” (Estep,The Anabaptist Story, 14).

Like incalculable believer’s before them, this group was tagged with the name, Anabaptist, a term of derision mocking their decision to be baptized a second time. The world and even religious leaders misunderstood their intent was not simply to reject infant baptism as unbiblical, but to establish a Believer’s church which was patterned after the Scripture. They were following God’s Word that one, in order to live a life of grace and victory, must first be saved and then baptized.

Yet, the world not only misunderstood their intent, they underestimated their legacy. This small band of ostracized Christians changed the world by trusting God’s Word and sharing Christ with a lost and dying humanity. The Great Commission of Matthew 28, in its entirety, was their life verse.  They declared that salvation came only to those who professed their faith in Christ (John 3:1-17; Acts 4:12). Centuries ahead of their time, they defended the biblical principle of complete religious liberty (Matt. 13:24-30).  In every aspect of their lives, they held to the inerrance and sufficiency of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Now, nearly 500 years later, we are their debtors, and this institution, Truett-McConnell College, will stand firmly on the shoulders of these giants, carrying forth the same vision.